Mac and Cheese!

Normally I make this with garlic but the shallot version turned out much better.

1 shallot, sliced
1/2 T butter
1 c Heavy Cream
2 c Cheddar, grated
Cooked Macaroni

Melt the butter. Cook shallot until softened. Add cream and heat until cream is warm. Add cheese and stir until melted. Serve sauce over macaroni.

Paul maintains that this is the best macaroni he's ever had, but he's biased.

Bean Enchiladas

Beans
2 c dried Pinto Beans
1 Onion, chopped
6 cloves Garlic, minced
1 slice Smoked Bacon
1 Beer
1 T fresh Oregano, chopped
1 T Paprika
1 T Cumin
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 t Cayenne Pepper
1 T Salt
8 oz Sour Cream

Cream Sauce
3/4 c Onion, chopped
1/4 c Carrots, chopped
1 Tbs Garlic, chopped
2 Tbs Water
2 Tbs Chicken Glaze/Bullion
1/4 c Flour
1.5 c Heavy Cream
4 oz Mushrooms, sliced


1.5 c Cheddar Cheese, grated
8 Tortillas

Soak the Beans overnight. Boil the beans with the Onion, Garlic, Bacon, Beer, Oregano, Paprika, Cumin, Bay leaf, and Pepper for 1.5h-2h. Add the salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Add Sour Cream to Beans.

Cook the Oil, Onion, Carrots and Garlic over medium-high heat until softened. Add water and Chicken Glaze; stir until combined. Add Flour and stir to combine. Add Heavy Cream and cook until heated. Put the Cream Mixture in the blender and blend until smooth. Add the Sour Cream and Sliced Mushrooms to the Cream Mixture. Cook the Cream Mixture until heated. Add the 1 cup of cream mixture to the beans.

For each tortilla, place some of the bean mixture on the tortilla, add cheese, and roll. Place tortillas in a baking pan (13x9x2). When all the tortillas are rolled, pour cream sauce on top of rolled tortillas. Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes (You're just melting the cheese)

Chicken Enchiladas Christy-style

So I was making an old recipe I have for enchiladas, but I had to modify it for my diet. It originally called for canned soups and so I made a replacement for the canned soups. My husband thought that the replacement sauce was blog-worthy so here is the whole recipe.

You need flour tortillas for this recipe and I like to make my own.

Flour Tortillas - 8
2 c Bread Flour
1/4 c Fat (Lard, Butter, Shortening, etc.)
1 tsp Salt
3/4 c Warm Water (105-115 degrees)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in either a mixer with a bread hook or by hand until smooth. Separate dough into 8 balls and let rest for 10 minutes or so. Roll the balls in rounds (they won't be perfect but who cares) - if the balls resist being flattened, let them rest for longer. Cook the tortillas on a cookie sheet for 4 minutes (you'll have to cook them in separate batches).

Chicken Enchiladas - 6 - 8
9x12x2 Baking Pan
Oil
2 Chicken Breast, cubed
1/4 c Taco Seasoning
3/4 c Onion, chopped (about half an onion)
1/2 c Black Olives, chopped
3/4 c Onion, chopped (the other half of the onion)
1/4 c Carrots, chopped
1 Tbs Garlic, chopped
2 Tbs Water
2 Tbs Chicken Glaze/Bullion
1/4 c Flour
2 c Heavy Cream
16 oz Sour Cream
4 oz Mushrooms, sliced
1 c Cheddar, grated
1 c Monterey Jack, grated
6-8 Flour Tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat Oil, Chicken Breast, Taco Seasoning, Onion, and Black Olives in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the chicken is cooked and the onions are soft. Set Chicken Mixture aside. Cook the Oil, Onion, Carrots and Garlic over high heat until softened. Add water and Chicken Glaze; stir until combined. Add Flour and stir to combine. Add Heavy Cream and cook until heated. Put the Cream Mixture in the blended and blend until smooth. Add the Sour Cream and Sliced Mushrooms to the Cream Mixture. Cook the Cream Mixture until heated. Add 1 cup of the Cream Mixture to the Chicken Mixture and stir to combine. Put 1 cup of Cream Mixture in the bottom of the baking pan. Set Aside Cream Mixture. Combine the Cheddar and the Monterey Jack. Roll the tortillas with Chicken Mixture and Cheese Mixture and pack into the pan once rolled. Add the remaining Cream Mixture and Cheese Mixture on top of the rolled tortillas and bake for 30 minutes.

I hope you enjoy them :)

Modified Baked Potato Soup Recipe

I finally made my baked potato soup recipe and I made some changes, more green onions and less cheese. I baked the potatoes and then scooped out the insides. I cooked the green onions and garlic until they were soft then added the potato innards. I added enough chicken stock to make the potato mixture wet then added the cream. I cooked that until it got warm (about five minutes) and added the cheese. I let the cheese melt and then added the bacon. I used hickory smoked bacon and only 2 slices. It only made two smallish servings, but the biscuits made the meal complete. The biscuits came out richer than I like my biscuits so next time I'm going to put less butter (1/4 c instead of 1/3 c) and add some milk (about 1/4 c).

So an organized version of my rambling:
Baked Potato Soup:
2 lb White or Yukon potatoes
1 Tbs Butter
1 1/2 c Green Onions, chopped
2 Tbs Garlic
1/2 c Chicken Stock
1 c Heavy Cream
1/2 c Cheddar Cheese, grated
2 Slices Bacon, cooked and chopped
Salt
Pepper

Bake the Potatoes at 400 degrees for an hour. Melt the Butter in a pot on med-low heat. Add Green Onions and Garlic and cook until the Green Onions become soft. Chop the Potatoes. Add the Potatoes and Chicken Stock to the Green Onions and Garlic. Add the Heavy Cream and cook until hot over medium heat (about 5 minutes). Add the Cheese and stir until melted. Add the Bacon and stir to mix. Season to taste with Salt and Pepper and serve.